Ivanishvili-Founded Cartu Bank Sues TV Pirveli for Saying Billionaire Still Owns It

Cartu Bank, founded by Georgian Dream patron Bidzina Ivanishvili, has sued opposition-leaning TV Pirveli for portraying the bank as still under his control, in what the channel and critics of the ruling party describe as an effort to distance the bank from its billionaire founder amid fears of more international sanctions.

“Cartu Bank has initiated legal battle against TV Pirveli, seeking to prohibit the channel from referring to Cartu as ‘Ivanishvili’s bank’ or ‘the oligarch’s bank,'” TV Pirveli reported on July 29. The channel added that the complaint claims “Cartu has no connection with Ivanishvili.”

The complaint, which has not been released in full and has only been partially shown on TV, cites a May 1 report from the channel in which journalists referred to Cartu Bank as the “oligarch’s bank” and “Bidzina Ivanishvili’s bank.” It adds that TV Pirveli journalists said Ivanishvili “has many times used the private bank to conceal wealth,” that “the fictitious divorce makes no difference,” and that the bank “serves his and his circle’s financial interests.”

Cartu Bank is currently owned by the International Charity Fund Cartu, also founded by Bidzina Ivanishvili. The bank was transferred to the fund in 2021, with his son, Uta Ivanishvili, named as the beneficial owner in recent documents.

In its complaint, Cartu Bank said the specific TV Pirveli report “aims to mislead the public and create false perceptions that Cartu Bank represents Bidzina Ivanishvili’s property, politicizing the bank.” The complaint added that, as a commercial organization, the bank is being harmed by “detached-from-reality, distorted, and false accusations” in the report, which “damage its professional reputation.”

The complaint concerns TV Pirveli’s coverage of a resolution adopted by the European People’s Party, the largest political group in the European Parliament, which called for sanctions against Ivanishvili and the removal of Cartu Bank from the SWIFT international payment system. Cartu Bank says TV Pirveli portrayed it as a “non-transparent” institution, describing it as “clear defamation.”

The complaint snippet shows that Cartu Bank cites a defamation clause from Georgia’s Law on Freedom of Speech and Expression, but without the full text, it is unclear whether the bank also pursues the case under other legislation. In April, the Georgian Dream parliament made controversial amendments to the defamation rules, shifting the burden of proof to the defense. This means now TV Pirveli must prove its coverage did not defame Cartu’s reputation.

The complaint comes a month after Georgia’s state media regulator, the Communications Commission, found TV Pirveli and another critical channel, Formula, in violation of the broadcasting law over language that questioned the Georgian Dream party’s legitimacy, following a complaint from the ruling party. The complaint also comes amid GD’s crackdown on critical media through restrictive legislation that imposes harsher regulatory rules and bans foreign funding.

Irakli Abesadze, founder of the Center for Civil Involvement, a non-governmental organization, called the complaint “very strange,” questioning how Cartu Bank could view its association with Bidzina Ivanishvili as defamatory and damaging to its reputation.

“But on the other hand, it’s clear they are trying to use the Murusidze court” – a reference to Georgia’s judiciary, widely seen as controlled by the government and symbolized by influential judge Levan Murusidze – “to distance themselves from Ivanishvili, as his name is highly likely to face serious sanctions,” Abesadze said.

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